The Figurines
by Crystalstar1001
Summary: No one ever knew anything about the lonely mansion near the depths of the Ghost Zone. Those who tried to enter never returned, leaving it immersed in mystery. But what is never known by outsiders is of the man in ragged pitch-black robes, and of the figurines he possesses…until a certain halfa breaks all rules imaginable and steals the statuette of a raven-haired girl. DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

_Hey you guys! So terribly sorry I haven't been active. School, basketball, etc. are keeping me well occupied. Hopefully I will update The Mistress of Time soon, but I've reached a bit of a writer's block on it :/ _

_This new story I'm bringing to you guys was inspired by a short story my mother wrote (yes, she's a writer too. She got me to love writing!) about a man who made wax dolls of the people in the village he lived in. Each person got one wish, but at a terrible price. That's all she would tell me. So I modified it drastically to create The Figurines. The basis is still off of what she would tell me of her short story._

_There will be some OCs, but I promise well-known characters will be there too._

_I hope you guys enjoy: I had fun writing the prologue for this one._

Just visible in the eerie light of the deep Ghost Zone was the castle, which, bathed ghostly green, radiated danger. The decorative gates were drowned in cobwebs, as if they hadn't been used in centuries. The place seemed virtually inhabitable. Or, at least, that was the rumor.

The mansion was home to a vast library, filled to the brim with dusty books of all ages. The open floor space had been diminished by several large stone statues, a workspace adorned with pottery tools and flakes of clay, and, of course, the impossible to miss replica of a city in the center of the room, complete with figurines of unrecognizable people.

A man entered the library. He wore a battered pitch-black cloak and ragged clothes, complete with a clay-baked apron. His face was undistinguishable under the hood of the robes.

He strode confidently to the little city and promptly picked up a boy with hair dark as the night sky with toughly callused hands. Carrying the delicate sculpture to the workspace, he painted a single snow-white stripe among the black. Seemingly satisfied, the man returned the teen to the city representation.

The knock broke the silence, banging loudly throughout the tower. The man, however, wasn't fazed, and called in a rough, yet knowing voice, "Enter."

The doors opened a crack, and there in the shadows stood a girl. She looked to be around fourteen. Silky chocolate-brown hair tumbled down her back, finally curling up at her hips. Striking sea-blue eyes surveyed the study carefully. She was dressed in faded jeans, a beat-up white t-shirt that might have had words on it once, and a cloak similar to the man's was wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Despite this, she gave off an aura of a beautiful girl underneath the filth on her face.

"I bring news, Father," she answered his unspoken question. Her voice was spectacular: soft and gentle, not a trace of bittersweet.

"Yes?" the man grunted.

"The boy," the girl began. "The Time Master says he will find us."

"Does he?" the man mused. "Clockwork says a lot of things, dear. Are you sure?"

"That was what he informed me of, Father," the girl persisted. "'The thing you fear… it will happen on the Twelfth of December, in the cold of nightfall.'"

Though it was not visible, the man frowned. "We must be prepared," he said at last. "We are never caught by surprise, thanks to Clockwork. We must use that." He paced over to one of the thousands of shelves, removing a single book as if it was easily identified among the others. It appeared to only have a year or two's worth of grime layering the front. The man brushed it off to reveal a title in barely readable gold lettering: _The Art of Ceramics – Make your creations come to life! _

The girl paled when she spotted the blood-red leather cover. "Father, is that really necessary?"

"It must be done," the man replied calmly. "The boy cannot be petrified like the others. We have no choice." He skimmed the Table of Contents before riffling through the old yellow pages, finally landing on page one hundred and five. The heading bore the words_ Argilla di Vita._

"You're heart is too soft, child. That will be your downfall one day."

The girl's face hardened. "Father, I-"

"Go," the man interrupted. "Inform Clockwork of my decision. And if you try to get him to change _anything_, Prilla," he growled. "I will not hesitate to…ever so slightly…crack your statuette."

Whatever color that was left in her face drained immediately. "Yes, Father." The shadows seemed to swallow her whole, and the doors closed with a quiet click.

The man sighed. "It must be done," he repeated to himself. His eyes fell again on the figure of the clay boy, his hair now adorned with a streak of the opposite color. "When he comes, we'll be ready to play."

_So there's the prologue, my friends! Did you like it? There's tons of mystery wrapped around this man and his daughter, I know, but that's kind of the point. No one is supposed to know about them. The rest you'll have to guess...some of it I don't even know myself yet._

_I think this story will go farther than my other ones. I just have a feeling in my gut._

_Anyway, this week I have Spring Break, so I'll try to update all my stories. This story is helping me get rid of my writer's block, hopefully. Agh, how I hate writer's block :/ Ah, well._

_Please review; I'd really like your thoughts on this one._

_~Cherry_


	2. More Than A Dream

_Hey! Sorry for the week long wait, I was getting a tour of the veterinary school at the college I want to go to, so I didn't have my computer. But no biggie! Chapter One is here._

_I'm actually working on Chapter Three right now because I got a little premature (lol ideas come fast!) but I don't know when Two will be edited enough to post. I know you're thinking "dang it!" and trust me, I am too. I'm getting so involved in this story, and it's barely started yet!_

_Anyway, I know you don't want to hear me babble anymore. Without further ado, I give you Chapter One!_

Daniel Fenton was dreaming.

His dreams were chaotic, with darkness overwhelming him and only flashes of things here and there. An abandoned-looking house. Statues. But most of all, a girl with long brunette hair and stunning blue eyes, pleading for help.

So, naturally, he woke sweaty and clammy, his sheets twisted in knots around him, with the girl's distressed face burned in his eyelids.

This had been the fifth night he'd had the dream. The very same dream. He'd tried to help the girl, but instead found himself falling into nothingness, only to wake again, panting. The same had happened today.

Growling in frustration, he crawled out of bed and dressed in the semidarkness. He hadn't told anyone about his dreams… not yet. Sam had definitely noticed his increased worried attitude, though. It was becoming difficult to hide it from her. However, he had a nagging feeling in his heart that telling his best friends would simply concern them, and nothing more.

They wouldn't care about the girl. He had a suspicion she was real, but she seemed so far away. She seemed so impossible to reach. They would tell him it was just a dream. But he was positive of one thing: this was no ordinary dream.

The only person awake when he trudged down the stairs was Jazz, her face buried in a book, one hand rapidly spooning cereal into her mouth. She didn't look up when he slipped into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl. He ate a Pop-Tart and his cereal in silence, before grasping his backpack and vanishing out the door, without a word from his older sister. He liked it that way.

Spotting Sam and Tucker down the sidewalk, he quickly masked his face into an unconvincing one of indifference. Sam raised one eyebrow as he reached them, but to his relief, she said nothing except, "Good morning."

Tucker wasn't as tactical. "Dude, you look awful. What's wrong?"

He silently thanked Sam as she elbowed Tucker in the ribs. "I couldn't sleep last night," he responded. Well, it wasn't a total lie.

"Just try not to fall asleep in Lancer's class today," Sam advised. "He's giving us a lecture on poetry, and I don't think you want to fail his test again…"

"No," he agreed, following his two friends towards Casper High.

* * *

Danny couldn't focus. His thoughts kept drifting to the girl in his dreams as Lancer droned on about the 'wonderful poetry of the nineteenth century'. It seemed like a worthier topic to decipher.

Who was she? Who was hurting her?

These questions were interrupted by his ghost sense, which spiraled off his tongue in a wisp of blue before vanishing, but still leaving a chill up his spine. A split second later, a ghost slammed through the window with an ear-splitting CRASH. Students (and Lancer) screamed and raced for the door, leaving Danny, Sam, and Tucker alone with the rampaging spirit.

Quickly, he reached for his cold core, willing it out, letting its power fill him. Instantly, the familiar blue-white rings expanded from his middle, splitting into two and journeying up and down his body. As soon as the rings passed it, it transformed into his ghost half, and by the time the rings were gone, Danny was completely changed, his snow-white hair and ectoplasmic green eyes glowing threateningly.

One plasma ray at the ghost and it was fleeing, _creating its own portal_ and darting rapidly through it. Curiosity overtook him and he gave chase, hearing Sam mutter behind him, "Better follow him before he does something stupid."

Danny pursued the entity through swirling green nothingness. The spirit was heading for the lower section of the Ghost Zone, somewhere he'd never really explored. He recalled something the ghost of time had told him long ago: _"Horrible things live in the Shadow Zone. Things you'll never want to meet."_ He shoved aside his caution and kept going against his better judgment.

He was about to catch the ghost when he saw it.

A sinister-looking manor loomed ahead, the light reflecting off of it in alarming ways. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by a stream of visions.

A man in a black hood delicately sculpted a figure of a woman out of clay.

A dusty deep-red book's pages flipped hastily.

A girl with sea-blue eyes watched the man with tears in her eyes.

"Danny!"

_I know, I know! I'm so evil with my cliffies! -hides in shame- but I couldn't think of any better way to end this chapter, so sorry about that. _

_Two will be up ASAP! With school starting again Monday, my time will be limited, though, so don't pressure me._

_Please leave reviews! I'd love your opinions and plot twist ideas._

_~Cherry_


	3. Too Real

_The next chapter is here at last!_

_In reality, I was putting off posting this until I finished chapter three, which is a SUPER LONG chapter (yay for you). I have a vague idea where I want this to go at this point (thanks to my best friend Gwen for the ideas! :3) but it's still fuzzy, unfortunately. Maybe I'd be more inspired if I got more reviews..._

_Anyway, you don't want to hear me babble. Let Chapter Two Begin!_

* * *

And now Danny could see the scene more clearly.

"Clay," the man grunted without looking up from his project.

The girl practically fell over herself trying to obey. With shaking hands she presented the man with a large slab of grey clay. The man took it from her without thanking her.

"Father…" the girl began uncertainly. "Are you sure you haven't…?"

"Changed my mind? The answer is still no, as it has been for a month now. Stop asking that question." The man took a sharp tool and flawlessly carved a face into the statuette. "Clockwork warned us for a reason."

The girl looked like she wanted to protest, but obviously thought better of it. She turned back to the red book…and for a fraction of a second, her eyes met Danny's. His heart gave a jolt when he understood what she was mouthing: _Please help me._

And suddenly she was fading…

"Danny!"

His eyes shot open with the force of a bullet, but he was forced to squint at the dazzling light that was so different from the lamp-lit darkness that had been before him a moment prior. It was a while before he could identify Sam and Tucker hovering over him, looking worried.

Sam relaxed when she saw him wake. "Thank goodness…"

He sat up, rubbing his head, which was residence to a pounding sort of ache. "What happened?"

"We were just catching up to you," Tucker explained hastily. "You just…stopped very abruptly. You started twitching and groaning…you sort of passed out. The whole time Sam and I were carrying you back, you were moaning 'I'll find you!' Ring any bells?"

Parts of his vision started coming back to him in the wrong order. He shook his head, trying to clear it. "I can't quite remember…but I think that creepy house caused it."

"Oh, is that why you fainted?" Tucker questioned. "It was pretty freaky, man, but to go as far as fall unconscious…"

Danny shot him a glare. "I didn't lose consciousness because the thing was scary, Tuck! There's something important in that place, I know it."

Tucker didn't meet his eyes, as if not wanting to discuss the matter. Sam, however, took it up instantly.

"Why? Did you feel something?" She sounded genuinely curious.

Reluctantly, Danny explained his continuing dream. He couldn't help but notice Tucker's doubtful expressions, but Sam's face was unreadable. He then elaborated on his vision. "I think the girl is trapped in that mansion," he finished quietly.

He thought he spotted a flash of jealousy cross Sam's vision, but it was gone as soon as it had come. "You really think it's real?" she whispered. No doubt, just clarification.

"I do," he confirmed softly.

"I don't know, Danny…that castle had a dreadful aura around it," Sam said with a shudder. "I could feel it. It felt like bad news for sure. I wouldn't just go running off to investigate."

Though that was likely what he would have done, he trusted his girlfriend and decided to do as she told him. "But there is someone else we can go to for more information."

"Really?" Sam's eyes were round. "Who?"

"Clockwork."

* * *

_Y'all are going to kill me with all those cliffies. I'm terribly sorry that this chapter was so dang short, but I promise the next chapter will clarify things a bit. Plus, it's LONG! Fun for readers, frustrating for author ^^_

_Until next time, ghosties. Pretty please leave a review! I'd be your bestest friend :o_

_~Cherry_


	4. Only Time Will Tell

_Happy Easter! As my gift to you, I give you my longest chapter for the Figurines yet! Enjoy ;)_

* * *

The man's voice echoed in his mind as clearly as if he were right next to him: "_Clockwork warned us for a reason."_

"Clockwork?" Sam and Tucker asked in unison.

Urgently he repeated the man's exact words. "Clockwork is in contact with these people. He'll know more than anyone else."

Sam now watched him skeptically. "Danny…you've met Clockwork. He's not one to pour out information to you just because you asked. He might not tell you anything."

"I have to try," Danny insisted. "I have to help that girl." He began to stride over to the open doorway, but glanced over his shoulder as he reached it. "Are you coming or not?"

Sam let out a low sigh. "Yes, I'm coming." She snatched up Tucker's hand and dragged him after her as she followed Danny down to the lab.

His parents and Jazz being at a science convention in Florida, the house was empty. The trio navigated it without problem, and stepped into the laboratory. The tables were cluttered with beakers, various machine parts, and unfinished inventions. Danny crossed the teal tile floor and sifted through the box of completed weapons before handing a Fenton Wrist-Ray to each of his friends.

"Just in case," he added when Sam stared at him.

He pressed a hand to the Fenton Scanner, which read his palm and declared, "Access Granted." The portal opened slowly, spilling lime-green light over the three of them.

Again, he reached for his chilly core, grasping it tightly, feeling its reassuring pulse inside of him. The icy rings appeared once more, racing up and down his form until his alter-ego stood in his place. Danny's glow added to the dazzling brightness as he opened his eyes, which had turned from blue to illuminating green.

Taking hold of his two friends' hands, he leaped into the swirling Ghost Zone. The familiar weightless feeling spread over him as he flew, almost cancelling out the bogginess. He used the safest path through the dimension, and soon enough a large clock tower with gears of all sizes hovering around it came into view. As they touched down on the small patch of ground, the doors creaked open with no more than a quiet groan.

"He's expecting us," Danny whispered. However much he'd known it would happen before he'd set off, it still unnerved him to see it come true.

He led his partners down a dusty hallway that was filled to the brim with clocks of all sorts, and of which was only lit by torches with iris-purple flames and his own ghost aura. It was a tight fit for three, but it wasn't an issue when he simply turned intangible and floated above the two humans.

At last they came upon a dead end. Tucker complained bitterly that they should go back until Danny managed to locate a trapdoor in the ceiling. Wrapping his fingers around Sam and Tucker's, he hauled them up and gently pushed open the door in the hopes they could make a quiet entrance.

No such luck. The trapdoor flew backwards with a decent crash, making the three wince. In poking his head through the opening, he noticed a strange scene unfolding.

It was the Viewing Room, no doubt, but it wasn't empty as he'd expected. A shadowed figure in a purple cloak was heatedly snapping something at a pair of white-and-gold robed eye ghosts with green clawed hands. The cloaked ghost's words had been cut off by the sound, and they were now staring at him.

A blue face with red eyes and a simple black scar smiled at him through the darkness cast by his hood. "Come in, Daniel. We were just finishing up."

One of the eye ghosts tried to protest, but was silenced by a glare from the cloaked ghost, despite the fact that he had changed into a child. It was obvious that he held great authority. Then he began to speak again, but it wasn't in words Danny knew…though he found he could understand.

"_I've given you my final word on the matter. If Orion has a problem he can talk to me himself. Now, I have better things to do than argue with a pair of messengers."_

"_Clockwork-"_ an eye ghost began.

"_No. I must converse with the Ghost Child now. Care to observe the door?"_ Clockwork interrupted with an air of an angry person who had missed the new episode of his favorite television show. The eye ghosts glanced at each other before fading into nothingness, leaving behind empty space.

Clockwork turned to Danny, smiling softly. "Now then. Come in, Daniel, and bring your friends."

"Uh, what were the Observants bothering you for?" Danny questioned as he pulled his companions into the Viewing Room. "And who's Orion?"

This only deepened the Time Master's grin. "So you understood. I thought you might."

Sam shot him a quizzical look. "Those weird noises they were making…you knew what they were saying?"

He frowned. "I did, I guess. I mean, I knew it wasn't English, but I could still identify the words." He noted Clockwork's curious gaze. "Why?"

"_Lingwa_, the language of the ghosts," the time ghost explained. "It's been around for centuries. Spirits naturally speak and comprehend it: sometimes subconsciously, like you. It is possible for humans to learn it, but it is a complicated tongue." His red, pupil-less eyes met Danny's green. "But that is not what you came here to discuss."

"No," Danny agreed, focusing on Clockwork's staff instead. He described, in as much detail as possible, his dreams and vision, emphasizing the points where the ghost's own name was mentioned. When he had finished, the Time Master's face was expressionless.

A moment passed in silence before Sam finally said, "Well?"

Clockwork just blinked slowly. "There is nothing to tell," he spoke at last.

"There's everything to tell!" Danny cried out. "That mansion has something to do with this girl! I know it does!" He stopped, panting, before facing the time ghost and whispering, "If you don't inform me now, I'll just learn it later."

Clockwork sighed in defeat. "Better you hear it from me than anyone else." He stared into a time window. "But I refuse to tell you _everything_."

The halfa didn't answer, knowing some information was better than blind speculation.

On Clockwork's command, the largest time window began to portray an image of none other than the ghostly residence. "Since the beginning of human existence, this has been there. It is about as important as my clock tower; without it, there would be nothing. Mortals could not exist, and for that matter, neither could ghosts. It is impossible to know what is inside those doors and return to speculate on it. No curious being who entered has ever returned."

The boys looked awestruck, but Sam piped up quietly, "Besides you."

"I have never been there," the time ghost corrected. "I have simply observed through my time windows, keeping watch to make sure nothing happens to destroy it…I daresay there are some ghosts who would jump at the chance." He floated in silence, watching the castle for a moment, before saying, "I can tell you nothing more, other than it is extremely important and that you mustn't try to uncover its mysteries."

Sam appeared satisfied, but Danny wasn't through. "How does this have anything to do with the girl?" he asked persistently. "Is she one of the ghosts who went in and never came out?"

Clockwork didn't answer, but waved his hand over the time window instead, and the eerie mansion vanished, leaving behind swirling green nothingness.

"She is, isn't she!" the ghost boy snapped heatedly.

"You must leave now, Daniel," the Time Master replied, ignoring his question. "The Observants will be frustrated that I told you anything at all. I warn you once more: do not go seeking answers. It will only lead to trouble."

The depth of those electric green eyes was smothered by anger. Without another word he snatched up his friends' wrists and vanished through the trapdoor's hole, slamming the wood down behind him.

Clockwork didn't even jump as the two Observants reappeared instantaneously. "You really need to learn to knock, you know."

"That was foolish, Clockwork!" the first scolded. "You've only peaked his curiosity! He will stop at nothing to save Prilla, and that is a risk we cannot take!" He crossed his arms with the figure of a parent disciplining a reckless child.

The time ghost was not fazed. "It is his destiny to get mixed up with her father's affairs," he responded. "Maybe one day you'll see that I know what I'm doing."

The second Observant clenched its fists. "This is serious. The boy could destroy all of humanity!"

Clockwork blinked at him. "I have forewarned them to Daniel's arrival. They are prepared. All is as it should be." With that, the Time Master turned away, a clear sign of dismissal. Clearly annoyed, the two Observants glanced at each other before mumbling something inaudible and vaporizing once more.

"All is as it should be…" he muttered. He only wished he could convince himself.

* * *

_Uh oh, Clockwork's doubtful...that can't be good._

_I find I really enjoy writing his character. He's so mysterious, yet wise and slightly funny at the same time. LOVE HIM!_

_Anyway, I just started writing the next chapter, so no idea when that will be finished. Plus, the first half of my major testing for this year is this week, the other half being the end of April. I will try my best to update as much as possible between them, but I can't promise anything. I have LOTS of studying to do...just thought I'd take the day off for a holiday._

_Again, I'm sorry for the cliffies. They're the best way to end chapters for me, and they make you want to keep reading!_

_Happy Easter, y'all! I hope you have a great one._

_~Cherry_


End file.
